MacDill Army sergeant pleads guilty to child porn charge

TAMPA — An Army sergeant stationed at MacDill Air Force Base pleaded guilty Thursday to the production of child pornography and faces a prison sentence of at least 15 years.

Thomas Meyer, 42, in 2011 and 2012 had sexually explicit Internet chats with a minor in Pennsylvania and with a second person he thought was a 13-year-old girl, according to prosecutors. But the 13-year-old was actually a detective in Kentucky.

A 16-year-old girl in Pennsylvania sent Meyer three pornographic pictures of herself at his request, prosecutors say, and discussed meeting her so they could have sex. He sent the "13-year-old" images of child and adult porn, court documents show.

Meyer faces a maximum of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced May 9 in Tampa's U.S. District Court.